Thursday, December 8, 2016

The Long and Short of the Last Two Months

It has been close two months since our last blog and what a
busy two months it was.

Here is the cliff notes version of our lives since we last
updated.The rest of October was spent
preparing for the W&W team to Swaziland as well as preparing to be gone
from our home and other ministry responsibilities for about a month. In the
month of November we were home a total of 8 days spread throughout the month.We were in three different countries
(Swaziland, Lesotho, and South Africa (both Johannesburg and Port
Elizabeth.).Once we returned from
Port Elizabeth on the 28th of November we focused on getting ready
for the NYC Event and the NYC Serve Day.

The longer version of the past two months.

We had a wonderful two weeks with a W&W team from Venice
FL (with team member additions from Ohio, Texas, and Pennsylvania.)They were working in a small village in
Swaziland.During the two weeks the team
built friendships, helped in building the church, built pews for the church, got
to see the well they raised money to provide in action, they did a kids day
outreach, as well as doing some site-seeing and shopping.One of the exciting things is that the well
will open many doors for the church to reach out and provide for the
surrounding community.Peter loved all
the extra people to play with and snuggle with.He also enjoyed wandering around the work site and finding all sorts of
things to get into.In this picture he
is near the water bucket that he loved to try and play in.This picture was right before he was told no
for the 17,000 time. J

After the team left we had a day at home and then headed
back out to go to Lesotho to show one of the team members what God is doing
there.We had a great time seeing the
various ministries that are happening. They are focusing on two projects right
now.One is chickens for pastors, where
local pastors are provided a number of baby chicks that they are trained to
take care of and feed.Then when they
have grown they can sell them and have money to buy more chickens as well as
provide for their families.Another
project they are really focusing on is starting a couple of Christian
schools.They are working hard to get
everything ready and approved for school to start in January.

After returning from Lesotho we spent a few days at home
catching up on lots of things including sleep, laundry and emails.Then we went to Port Elizabeth and spent a
few days enjoying the beach and the city.On Saturday we attended the Eastern Cape Assembly and on Sunday attending
their rally where Beth preached.It was
a blessing to see and hear what God was doing through their ministries as well
as enjoy God’s wonderful creation.

Now we are gearing up for the NYC Event.Where around 500 youth from all over Africa
will come together for 4 days and worship, pray, learn, serve, fellowship and
grow together.Joe and I have been
helping to coordinate the NYC Serve day.On Saturday December 17th all the youth of the event will go
out to 10 different sites around the city and Serve.They will put into action what they have been
singing, praying, and learning about.With the hopes that they will make a lasting impact in the communities
they are serving as well as take what they have learned home and serve
there.

Once NYC is done we are going away for a week with some
friends.We are looking forward to a
week of relaxing, hiking, swimming, fellowshipping, and being outdoors.

We hope and pray you each have a wonderful Christmas and a
blessed New Years.In the midst of all
that is going on may you find time to rest, relax and reflect on the many
blessings of your life.

Until next time; When checking for teeth on a toddler make
sure there is something else besides your finger to bite or you may lose said
finger.